


better than this

by GloriousScumbag (Lady_Caryatid)



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Ficlet, M/M, Requited Teacher Galo, Student Lio, Teacher Galo, Teacher-Student Relationship, TeacherGalo!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:41:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27554776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Caryatid/pseuds/GloriousScumbag
Summary: Mr. Thymos has mutual feelings for his student. Luckily, he knows exactly the right thing to do in this situation. Whether or not he'll be able to follow through with it, though, is up in the air.(A short scene I wanted to get out of my head)
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 8
Kudos: 21





	better than this

**Author's Note:**

> I kind of wanted to write a ficlet/scene thing kind of based off/continuing directly from [these doodles](https://twitter.com/tithe_to_hell/status/1326288857034190848) I did earlier. Basically TeacherGalo!AU where it's consensual and requited and they sort-of get together but Galo still has mega guilt about it all. Ideally I'd love to have it be a whole story but I was only able to really get this small bit out of my head and thought I'd share, since not sure if I'll do anything more.

“I guess I’ll see you around, Mr. Thymos,” Lio said, slipping his jacket back on and turning to give one last, somewhat sheepish smile before heading out the door. Galo sat there for a few minutes after he left, heart pounding, the look of that smile and the feel of Lio’s touch still lingering in his memory. He’d wanted Lio to stay longer, follow him out that door and scoop him up in his arms all over again. But now, all he could do was sit there in a state of blissful shock. _Oh God_. 

It was another few minutes before Galo managed to gather his things and head home. The bus was fairly empty, which gave him room to rethink and replay the events of that afternoon in his head. It still didn’t feel quite real. Galo thought back to his own experiences in high school, as much as he could recall them, mostly as a blur of unpleasant transitions and aching loneliness. He’d mostly kept to himself back then, doing his best to avoid the torment from other kids, spending a lot of time eating his lunch in classrooms or teachers’ offices. Kray had let him stay as long as he’d wanted, both during lunch and after school. Kray never talked much to him, mostly staying glued to his work while Galo fidgeted in the corner, doodling on his homework margins, but Galo had always appreciated the gesture. He’d never experienced the kind of high school that was in the movies, that kind of fantasy where impossibly beautiful people barely cared about grades or the day to day drudgery of spending hours sitting at a desk. The teens in those movies had “relatable” issues, but for so many of them them high school was about the fun and drama of finding and falling in love in quirky and unusual ways. There would be drama of course, and people acting in over-the-top ways, but they always worked out in the end. He’d never thought of that kind of childish story being one that he could fit into, and yet–

Lio had been the one to stumble upon him, hitting a low point in the season, struggling to fit into the new town and new job and offered his love. Talked to him like a _person_. Not just a grudging obligation or inconvenience. Galo had been grateful to have him as a friend, as a friendly face to look forward to in the crowd of ennui-filled teens and harried staff. Knowing that Lio had cared for him enough, was bold enough to express an affection that Galo had barely been able to articulate to himself, settled over him like a haze.

And as the bus came to its last stop and he got off, the hazy feelings of warmth had faded into a kind of lukewarm dread. After all, this wasn’t the same as being a teenager again, with the freedom to blunder and make stupid mistakes. He was a _teacher_ , for god’s sake. One with a moment of weakness and indiscretion. Thinking about Lio, wanting Lio, was selfish of him. _It shouldn’t take a fucking starry-eyed high school senior_ to solve your insecurities, he chastised himself. _You know better than this. You’re better than this._

Galo entered his apartment, going through all the things he knew were the right things to say, reviewing the events of that afternoon in over in his head. He’d been an idiot, listening to Lio talk, knowing exactly what he meant, what was going to happen, and not taking the initiative to shut him down. 

Galo placed his bag on the floor, switched on the TV and let it aimlessly play, chattering in the background as he dug through the fridge and threw together a simple dinner. He tried to think on practical things–the grade sheets he still needed to fill out, the club activities he’d promised Lucia he’d get involved in, the drippy bathroom faucet he kept meaning to get fixed but kept forgetting. He was pretty sure he’d eventually have to get around to sorting out the mail that had started piling up ever since he’d moved in as well. 

He’d see Lio again on Monday. He’d be proper this time around–being firm, but gentle. Gently push him away. Do the mature thing, explain to Lio as compassionately as only a teacher could that he had obligations and responsibilities to keep a professional distance. It was all so clear, in retrospect, the path that should have been taken, that would have been so simple and straightforward to put into action. It would’ve been better to have avoided the situation completely in the first place, but it wasn’t as if they’d had the chance to do anything _serious_ –but he could do the right thing from now on.

And _yet_. 

Lio’s face returned to him again, lit by the late afternoon sun coming through the windows, smiling, laughing, looking at him again with that targeted, hungry, yet tender intensity. It wasn’t fair. Lio had left him wanting and needing more, in ways that were both shameful and unstoppable. He imagined having Lio visit him in his lonely home, looking it over in the amused way he seemed to approach everything in life, the way rich kids tended to be. It’d be a bit embarrassing, of course, but Lio would understand.Galo repeated his reasonings to himself over again, but they felt hollow and dim in the way that even the memory of Lio and his touch did not. _God_. 

It was going to be a long weekend. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on twitter at [@tithe_to_hell](https://twitter.com/tithe_to_hell) where most of my takes on the various teachergalo AUs are in doodle form rather than fics


End file.
